Currently, around three quarters of investment in Australia’s renewable energy industry comes from overseas. 

That figure is part of the reason why some politicians, like Bradfield’s Nicolette Boele, have come out in support of a policy that is relatively tough to sell: handing out tax breaks to international energy companies.

What happened: Part of Labor’s sweeping reforms to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) originally included an expansion of the tax to foreign owned renewable energy assets, which had previously been exempt. 

Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele was among crossbench figures and the Greens pushing for Labor to repeal the changes. They saw some success last week, when Labor extended the discount period to 2040. 

What they said: Speaking to the Lorikeet, Boele said she pushed against the tax changes because they “threatened the international investment Australia relies on to build the solar farms, wind projects and batteries that keep our power affordable”.

“Three quarters of our clean energy investment comes from overseas, so changing the rules after the fact makes investors wary”.

“The design could've triggered a sell-off of renewable projects before 2030, then a freeze on new ones”.

In Australia, around 75 percent of investment into renewable projects — wind farms, solar farms, large-scale batteries — comes from foreign companies. The remaining amount comes primarily from the government and domestic investors. 

A tiny amount of that investment also comes from Australian superannuation funds.

Show me the money: To shut down costly and polluting coal plants, Australia needs to keep foreign investment flowing into new renewable projects. 

For those who want both a healthy planet and fair tax on massive energy companies, it raises the question: is there a way Australia could finance new energy projects without relying on tax breaks for foreign companies? 

Who can fund? Energy analyst Tim Buckley argues Australia’s super funds could play a much bigger role in our pursuit of cleaner, cheaper energy.

Buckley has 30 years of experience in finance and runs an independent think tank. He said that if we want to start taxing foreign renewables, we need to first be fostering local investment. 

According to Buckley, Australia has trillions of dollars worth of potential investment tied up in superannuation funds, but proportionally, a very small amount of that goes toward clean energy projects. 

Tempting investors: As superannuation funds abide by strict standards set by the government, they also have the power to incentivise more of this capital to go toward projects that align with the interests of Australians. 

Boele has also been supportive of superannuation reform to bolster domestic investment in clean energy, and has met with the Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino to advocate for it.

“The laws governing Aussie superfunds makes an already cautious industry even more risk adverse”, she told the Lorikeet. 

“International investors have been doing these types of investments for decades and their participation in our market reflects that confidence … with project lead times, energy security threats and cost of energy impacting business and households, we can’t afford the delay”. 

Read the full story below.

Plans for North Shore councils to build an interconnected cycling network across the region are encountering one of their biggest opponents: locals who don’t want to lose kerbside parking. 

What happened: On Monday evening, Willoughby Council debated their plans for a major cycle path, running from St Leonards to Chatswood.

Councillors were reluctant to endorse the plan, with many feeling uneasy about its proposal to remove 92 parking spaces from the local area. 

What they said: Councillor Nic Wright urged council to push on with the plan, claiming that “sometimes we do need to get rid of car parking … the densification that’s coming requires active transport lanes”. 

Ultimately, councillors voted to change the wording of the motion, deciding to “release” rather than “endorse” the plan for community consultation. A stipulation was also added, asking council staff to find any way they could claw back some of the 92 car spaces impacted.

Pushback: The implementation of better cycling infrastructure can be a tricky task for councils; the end goal is to have less cars on the street, but pursuing this goal too vigilantly — by stripping parking or tightening roads — can result in frustration and backlash from local road users. 

Around the grounds: In Cremorne, another controversial bike path saw approval this month from North Sydney Council, following a heated public forum where the plan saw opposition from local residents. 

Those opposing it claimed the plan was “materially different” than the one they were previously shown and would worsen existing traffic problems.

What does the data say? A 2025 case study on Sydney bicycle paths found that the largest obstacle comes from local pushback in the planning phase, particularly regarding the loss of parking spaces. 

However, it also found that once the cycle paths were built, 83.1 percent of residents believed it positively contributed to their street.

Dr Mike Harris, a UNSW academic who worked on the study, argued motorists and cyclists should not be opposed to one another, and claimed more cycling could reduce congestion. 

NSW Government studies indicate a lack of cycling infrastructure is one of the largest barriers to getting more people riding bikes instead of driving. 

Read the full story below.

North Sydney Council is moving forward with the sale of a street to Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore), just weeks after it re-entered negotiations to sell another public road to Redlands.

What happened: Last July, North Sydney Council voted to begin investigating the potential closure and sale of the lower part of Edward Street. The end of this street runs between Shore School and one of its many playing fields. 

Now, the council is opening the decision up to public consultation as it prepares to sell, but a price for the road has not been named. 

How much: When asked by the Lorikeet how much selling the road might bag ratepayers, a council spokesperson said “no proposed sale price has been determined, and no valuation has been undertaken”.

While the period of public consultation proceeds, a community working group will also give advice on the sale. This group will consist of two representatives from council, two from Shore, two from the community and the chair of the Waverton Precinct, Ian Grey. 

Parking: A spokesperson for council said the closure of the road would remove approximately eight parking spaces, and this impact was something that would be considered in the consultation process.

Context: Despite this current move to sell off land, North Sydney Council has had a somewhat icy relationship with its local private schools as of late. 

Last year, Mayor Zoë Baker took aim at the exemption private schools are given from paying rates on the land they own, and called on all private schools in the LGA to make voluntary contributions instead.

All schools declined.

Full story below.

Paramedics across the country are using Virtual Emergency Departments (VED) to connect patients with non-urgent problems to emergency clinicians by video instead of taking them to hospital.

In Victoria, some ambos are taking advantage of the service four or five times a shift.

Victoria launched its virtual emergency departments in 2020. Now, Queensland, NSW, South Australia and WA all have them.

Do they work?

The National Account's Archie Milligan has the rundown: